2,000 bronze grave vases likely stolen for scrap

Osceola cemetery manager says new urns to have less valuable mix of metals.

Osceola cemetery manager says new urns to have less valuable mix of metals.

June 07, 2007|By SARAH MICHALOS Tribune Staff Writer

The theft of about 2,000 bronze vases has prompted the manager of one area cemetery to downgrade metals and upgrade security.

An estimated $600,000 worth of vases hooked to tombstones by chains was reported stolen Tuesday by Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Osceola.

Richard Kuschnick, general manager, said the company realized the loss when its office received 93 reports of missing vases right after Memorial Day, when many families visited loved onesÂ? graves.

Â?We were in the process of talking about what to do when the Elkhart police called us,Â? Kuschnick said. Â?They said, Â?WeÂ?ve got about 50 vases here.Â? I sent out our cemetery superintendent to identify them, and it turns out that about two-thirds we knew were ours.Â?

Kuschnick said the vases were recognizable because Chapel Hill has its own foundry called American Bronze Craft, where it makes pure bronze memorial vases.

According to a police report, three men tried to sell 49 vases to Sturgis Iron & Metals Co. in Elkhart, but an employee wouldnÂ?t accept them.

The employee called police when she recognized that they were stolen. Police arrested the suspects on theft charges. Sturgis Iron & Metals Co. representatives declined comment.

In response to the theft, Kuschnick said the mix of metals used to make the vases will be changed to a nickel alloy mix with enough bronze so that the items wonÂ?t rust.

Â?It reduces the scrap value,Â? said Kuschnick, who said the economy may have contributed to the thefts. Â?I think people are getting kind of desperate for extra money, and itÂ?s unfortunate that this is a resource they are taking.Â?